Zugzwang
by Thaliag.2
Summary: Tragedy was something this family was used to, but life was a chess game and zugzwang had just been called. Disclaimer: I don't own any Batman characters listed, but I do own the Reverse universe.


**Bird Watching**

**Beta(s): Mystic Sorrow, Robin-Is-Totally-Whelming, DarkMousyRulezAll, IcesisCloud**

All of the siblings in the Batfamily had witnessed a personal tragedy at one point in their lives. Whether it be the loss of parents or the horrendous act of abuse, they all knew what it was like to feel that kind of pain.

Cassandra had to deal with the frustration of her limited social skills and illiteracy. One might not consider it a tragedy, but not being able to talk, read, or write had been for someone of her age. When a child would normally start to sprout and create relationships, Cassie had been unable to. Therefore, she had been alone and isolated. The training she had received during her isolation might have been viewed as a gift, however when she had been force to make her first kill she realized her "gift" for what it really was, a curse.

Terry had been lucky enough to not have to witness the murder of his father, but he had had to deal with the events that followed the gruesome crime. He had had to cut ties with his biological mother and younger brother in order to keep them safe from the people who had been after him.

For Damian, things had been a bit easier to deal with, as his training as an assassin hardened him. However, being disowned by his mother had still hurt him deeply. Despite the fact that his mother had been and still was a heartless assassin, she had still shown him the love only a mother could provide in his younger years. However, now that she refused to acknowledge that he even existed, he would never be able to have that again.

Stephanie didn't really like to call what she had to go through a tragedy. Her father had been a villain, a low rate one, but a villain nonetheless. However, she had still been scarred by the fact that her father had, and still, hated the very heroes that she had idolized. And she was terrified by the fact that he detested the very hero she had become.

Tim could be considered the odd one out. He had had a great life; he had been content and happy, until his parents had proposed that Bruce adopt him. He hadn't understood why his parents didn't want him anymore. It had taken him a quite a long time to realize that they had done what was best for him. Even after that realization, he had still been hesitant to make any relationships in fear that they would be broken and destroyed. Then his mother had died and his father had lapsed into a coma. The fact that he hadn't cried over it had scared him and he had isolated himself for days, trying to figure out what was wrong with himself.

Jason had been hardened by the streets of Gotham. He had seen so _many_ things, that even with Bruce's help, he would be forever scarred. His father had been a gambler, gaining more debts than he could pay off. The people who he had owed had found him and killed him, right in front of Jason and Jason's mother. The woman had already been hooked on drugs, but her husband's murder had pushed her over the edge, causing her addiction to grow, and leaving Jason to fend for himself on the street. When the woman over dosed Jason cried, but picked himself up and tried to find a way to survive, after all he had done it before.

And then there was Dick. The innocent and lovable baby bird of the family. No child of _any_ age should have had to see what he had seen that horrible night, the night his parents had been murdered. No child should have had to deal with the hurtful words, bruising blows, and lingering looks of the juvenile detention center he had been put in.

Tragedy was something this family was used to, but life was a chess game and zug zwang had just been called.

_**~Zugzwang~**_

The Boy Wonder flinched as lighting flashed through the night sky behind him. He pulled his cape tighter around him as a gust of wind from the shattered floor to ceiling windows of the penthouse apartment he was in gave him a chill. He shivered and walked closer to Batman who was standing next to Nightwing and Renegade casing the scene. It had been a kidnapping, and a violent one at that. The shattered windows were only part of the evidence. There were bullet casings, seven to be exact. The police had already been notified; however, something was bothering the thirteen year old.

Perhaps it was paranoia from working so closely with his adoptive father. Or perhaps, it was the fact that it was never _just_ a kidnapping in Gotham. The teen signaled that he was going to look around the other rooms and make sure that they were clear. Batman nodded slightly. The teen walked into the kitchen area of the apartment, but found nothing out of place. He shivered slightly, and _not_ from the cold. There was some sense of foreboding when he walked towards the master bedroom. He steeled his nerves and pushed the door open.

What he saw would forever haunt his already gore filled nightmares. In the rooms were seven bodies, bloody and beaten. But that's not what made bile rise in his throat and made him tremble with terror. No, what caused it was the fact that all the bodies were young and from what he could make out under the blood they seemed to range from early teens to mid-twenties. He heart sped up and his breath hitched in his throat as the smell hit him. Oh God, it was too much. Even with all the things he'd seen, _this _was too much for him. The smell, it was of blood, and death, and something indistinguishable, but just as horrid. He flinched when the communicator he kept on his utility belt crackled to life with static and Batman's voice came in.

"Robin, where are you? Batman out."

Robin stared at the device, lifted a shaky hand and grabbed it. He flipped it opened and pressed the button to reply back to his mentor. In a trembling voice he told Batman that he was fine, but needed the man to come over to him at once.

The Dark Knight got there faster than actually needed because of the terror he heard in his youngest son's voice. Nightwing and Renegade followed behind closely. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what their little brother was looking at. Nightwing didn't even hesitate to wrap the boy in his arms when Batman led Robin towards him. He pushed the boy's head into his chest, as if to protect the child from the images that he had just seen, even if the effort was futile. He could feel the boy trembling and he held his brother tighter.

"It's going to be okay."

It was not going to be okay. They all knew this, but the comforting words had a good effect and Robin's trembling lost most of its intensity. Right away, as the three older members took in the grisly sight before them, they had already decided one thing. Robin would _not_ be working on this case.

Batman looked away from the scene as he heard a door open and footsteps coming towards him. Robin pulled away from the comforting embrace of his older brother. It was an unspoken rule between the family. No matter how hurt, how terrified, or traumatized, _no_ emotion was to be shown in front of the police. Sure, Gordon, Montoya, and Bullock could be trusted, but dirty cops infiltrated the GCPD all the time. If they saw a weakness they would exploit it. So it was best not to show emotion at all.

Batman turned towards the commissioner and nodded. The man did the same before taking out a notebook and pencil.

"What do you think?"

"The victim Laura James, she lives here on her own. However, the bodies that are in the master bedroom, they were murdered here, at least that's what it seems like. I don't think they're connected to her in any way. There are seven bodies in there, do you remember the kidnappings that have been reported over the past three months? There were twenty, but I think those seven in there are the victims of some of the kidnappings." Batman paused before continuing. "This was premeditated. The man who did this is working towards a bigger goal."

Gordon looked at the man inquiringly, but stopped the question that he was going to ask when he saw the slight shake of the head from the knight. He nodded indicating that they would talk another time. However he didn't realize _why_ the man didn't want to talk, until he noticed Robin standing by Nightwing. He frowned; the boy was trembling and that led Gordon to believe that Robin was the one who found the room. A look of sympathy crossed his features; no kid should have to see what was in there.

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Something about the seven dead bodies was unnerving Bruce. He had looked at the evidence that had been given so far and he couldn't pin the reason down. He looked at police reports from the last three months and singled out the one's concerning kidnappings and runaways. He then narrowed it down more for kidnappings that were particularly violent. He lined them all up side to side and read through them.

The first kidnapping was from May 12. It was a young girl. Her name was Jasmine Griffin; she was twenty six years old, 5'5", with short black hair and brown eyes. Bruce noted that she looked increasingly similar to Laura James, the victim of the previous night's kidnapping.

The second kidnapping was two weeks after the first one on May 26. This one was a kidnapping of a young boy. His name was Derek Salazar; he was twenty-four, with black hair and the same color eyes.

The third and fourth kidnappings were reported on June 13. The boy was twenty-two and the girl had been twenty. Their names were Jake and Sally Summers. The boy Jake had the same color hair and eyes as the boy from the second kidnapping. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes, much like his daughter Stephanie.

He was becoming increasingly unnerved, but he didn't know why. He couldn't find any common links between the persons who had been kidnapped. He might as well go on. The linking trait might be present with some of the more recent kidnappings.

The next kidnapping, the fifth, was a boy of eighteen. He was in his senior year in high school. His name had been Andre Smith. He had been exceptionally smart, with black hair and blue eyes. Bruce shook off the nervous feeling as it got worse. He had to focus, if he didn't focus, he would never be able to find what his instincts were telling him was there.

He moved on to the sixth kidnapping. A boy of sixteen with green eyes and natural red hair; however in all the pictures Bruce had in the file the boy's hair had been dyed black with a white fringe of hair on the right side.

He moved on to the seventh and final kidnapping. The boy's name was Owen Simms, age thirteen. He had blue eyes and black hair.

Bruce's chair fell over from the force of him standing up. He typed furiously and pulled up the finished autopsy reports that he needed to see. All while waiting for the files to load, he was praying that his hunch was _not _right, and that his suspicions were just those of an over paranoid man. However, when the files popped up with the names, the ages, hair, eye color, and injury synopsis, his heart sank.

All of them had been killed in the same way. All of them had the same injuries. The same bones had been broken. The same blows had been inflicted. However, with the youngest victim, the blows inflicted were less damaging_._ The bones were only broken in one place instead of several. In the autopsy report there was said to have been burn marks from some type of rope on the boy's wrists. It also revealed that there had been something covering his mouth, most likely, it had been duct tape. But the most contrast between Owen and the other victims was the five words on the bottom of the report, _not killed at the scene._

Bruce turned off the computer. He couldn't look at it anymore. His suspicions had been right. Each of the victims looked exactly like each of his children. Not to mention the fact that they were all the same ages. It could have been an extreme coincidence, but there were never any coincidences in Gotham

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Cassandra Cain walked out of the Gotham Public Library briskly. The breezy autumn air bit at her face turning it a light shade of pink. Her messenger bag bumped against her leg. She pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear. Then she pulled her brown jacket tighter around her. She had to get home quickly; she had promised her adoptive father that she would watch over her thirteen year old little brother. Everyone had had plans for today, but her so she had readily volunteered, happy for the fact that she would be able to spend time with her youngest brother. She pulled out the keys to her car from her coat pocket. She hit the unlock button and slid into the driver's seat. She put her messenger bag in the passenger seat of her car. She stuck the key in her ignition and started the 2012 Honda Accord.

She jumped when she heard some taps on her window. She looked at the man who had tapped on her window and smiled warmly. She rolled down the window and smiled at the twenty-eight year old on the other side of the door.

"You scared me Kevin."

He frowned and leaned down to give her a small peck on the cheek.

"I'm sorry Cassie; I was just trying to catch you before you left. I wanted to know if we were still on for tomorrow night."

"I am so sorry Kevin, I promised Bruce I would take care of Dick today and tomorrow that's why I'm in such a rush. Plus said little boy made me promise to bring him to his favorite restaurant tomorrow night. He claims it will be brother and sister time. I promise I will make it up to you okay? I love you." Cassie said.'

Kevin nodded and blew the girl a kiss. He waved as she drove off and then he headed back towards the library. He didn't notice a man with a black baseball cap who had been listening in on him and Cass's conversation. Nor did he notice the fact that the man had snapped a few pictures of him as he was waving goodbye to his girlfriend.

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Damian and Terry looked at the files that Bruce had laid out in front of them closely. It was the police and autopsy reports for the seven victims. The boys' faces became paler as they read on. Damian pushed the reports away when he was done reading. Both he and Terry realized exactly what Bruce had seen when he had looked over the reports himself.

"You think he's targeting us." Terry stated solemnly.'

Bruce could only nod. Terry grabbed Owen Simms autopsy report again and read over it. He turned pale and pushed it away. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

"You believe that the killer has a cycle and that he's starting it again with Laura James, using her as a counterpart for Cassie."

"Yes, and if my suspicion is correct, he is going to kidnap his next victim within the next two weeks. As a counterpart for Terry"

Damian frowned and grabbed the files again. He stopped when he found Derek Salazar's.

"We need to find all males the age of twenty-four and those who are going to turn twenty-four within the next two weeks. Then we can narrow it down to those who fit McGinnis's description and who live around the area that Derek Salazar lived in."

Bruce nodded and rolled his chair over to the computer. He typed in some equations and algorithms and soon he had triangulated possible areas. He frowned and asked Terry to get him the file on Derek Salazar. Derek had been kidnapped from his home in the middle of the day while his girlfriend was at work. He narrowed the search down to twenty-four year olds with girlfriends and one bedroom apartments. Out of the seventy he had originally found, with the new data it was narrowed down to only three. Bruce knew that there had to be one identifying factor among the file that he was missing.

Then it hit him, Derek Salazar had been at home because he worked night shift. When he typed that in only one name was left. Andrew Prentiss, age twenty-four. He put the information in a file and sent it to the private e-mail address of Commissioner Gordon.

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Tim, Jason, and Stephanie sat on the couch in the living room, playing a racing game. Stephanie cheered as she passed her two younger brothers in the video game. She laughed at the pouts on their faces and smiled when she won the game, for the fifth time in a row.

"Admit it, you guys, I'm better than you."

Both teens sighed in defeat and turned off the game. They were better at RPGs anyway. They glanced over at their thirteen year old little brother who was reading a book.

"Hey Birdie, what are you reading?"

Dick held up the book so the boys could see the cover. They started laughing when they saw the word Encyclopedia on the front. They shook their heads in amusement; it was just like their brother to read something as boring as the encyclopedia for entertainment. He frowned and glared at them. It was just liked his older brothers to make fun of him like this. He curled in on himself more and continued reading the book.

Jason and Tim looked at each other before turning back to their little brother.

"Sorry, Birdie that was mean of us."

They only received a nod in return. About thirty minutes later, when Tim and Jason finished another round of a board game they had grabbed, Dick put the book down and walked over to where his brothers were sitting on the other couch and picked up the case of the game they had just been playing. Then he walked over to the gaming console and turned it on. He sat on the couch next to Jason and grabbed the control that Stephanie had been using.

"I bet you guys can't beat me either"

"Oh it is on."

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Laura sat up with a groan. She looked around her, but all she could see was black. Where was she? In an attempt to keep herself warm she rubbed her arms, but that did nothing to help her. She pushed herself to her feet and held her hands out in front of her, so that she wouldn't run into a wall. She screamed as her wrists were suddenly grabbed and she was thrown back to the floor. Her head hit the concrete causing her already impaired vision to swim.

"Come on now Cassie, trying to escape isn't very nice."

"M-My name isn't Cassie, it's Laura. W-Who are you? Why am I here?"

"Your name _is_ Cassie, and you're here for a test, one that you are already failing."

Laura screamed as a hard blow came in contact with her leg. She crossed her arms over her face to protect herself from the blitz attack. When it was over she heard a door open and close and then she was left alone in the darkness.

"Someone p-please, help me, please."

_**~Zugzwang~**_

Dick and Cassandra walked into the restaurant as quietly as possible. They were not up to being mobbed by paparazzi. As they were seated in a secluded area they finally untensed.

"Thanks for bringing me Cass; we don't really get to hang out much anymore."

Cassandra's eyes softened and she smiled warmly at her little brother.

"Hey I'd do anything for my little bird."

Dick returned the smile and picked up the menu from the table. His eyes went wide when he saw the prices that were listed. They hadn't been that high the last time he had been here. He frowned and tapped on Cassandra's hand. She looked up from her menu and raised an eyebrow.

"The prices are really high Cassie; if you want we can go somewhere else."

She chuckled and shook her head.

"No, I promised we'd eat here and we're going to eat here. Besides, it's not we need to order a full course meal. The entrées aren't as pricy as the appetizers and desserts, so we'll just order and entrée and pick up some ice cream on the way home."

"Okay, that sounds good." Dick agreed.'

After a few moments both had picked what they wanted and had called their waiter back over. They ordered and started to converse as they waited for their food. As they talked Dick decided that he should tell Cassandra about something that had been bothering him. Nervously he cleared his throat and looked down at the table. Cassie looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Dick, you know you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

"I-Ever since that case two nights ago, Bruce has been on edge. He's never this nervous and Eu nu ce să fac." (I don't know what to do)

Cassie frowned; Dick only started talking in Romani when he was really scared.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down baby bird. Use English, and slow down I couldn't quite catch what you said."

"Sorry." Dick mumbled. "It's just that, Bruce has been overly paranoid, well more than usual."

Both siblings smiled at that. Bruce was overprotective of all of them, especially Dick. Bruce and most of his older children had gotten into arguments of the man's paranoia. In the end they all understood the reason for their father's protectiveness. In their line of work anything could happen, so it was best to be on guard.

Cassandra looked at Dick, who was staring at her for an answer. She was surprised to see genuine fear in his eyes.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious Dickie. In fact I can promise you. But, if it makes you feel better we can look at the case files for the kidnapping that happened two nights ago. Okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to figure out what's got him so freaked." Dick said.'

Both of them ended the conversation as the waiter came with their food. For the rest of their time at the restaurant they talked about less serious things. They started debating which ice cream shop they would go to when they finished their dinner.

_**~Zugzwang~**_

A man with a black baseball cap sat atop a building and watched a young woman and a young boy about thirteen talk to each other. A smile spread across his face when the sound enhancer he was wearing picked up what the boy was saying.

"_I-Ever since that case two nights ago, Bruce has been on edge. He's never this nervous and Eu nu ce să fac."_

"He should be nervous about me Dickie. He really should."

The man pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed a number that he had worked very hard to get. He smiled when the receiver clicked.

"_Bruce Wayne speaking, who is this?"_

"Do you know exactly where Cassandra and Richard are at this moment?"

The man smiled when he heard the sharp intake of breath on the other line. He chuckled to himself, this was too easy.

"_Who are you?"_

The man smiled at the anger behind the question.

"Why, Mr. Wayne, I'm surprised that you don't remember me. After all you are the one who ruined my one last chance of happiness. Of course, you really only remember those sorts of things when they come back to bite you."

With that the man hung up the phone. It would be fun to watch the man he was targeting try to outsmart him. He switched off the sound enhancer and put away his binoculars. He would have to bird watch later, right now he had another kidnapping to plan.


End file.
